Module Land Transport Stability for Energy and Industrial Facilities

A key aspect of modular construction is the interface between engineering and moving operations. While conventional “stick built” operations consider construction loads as operational load cases, modular construction involves moving and lifting operations of very significant loads and sizes, which require a more formal approach to between the engineering, planning, and execution of such operations. Overlooking the engineering of these critical moving operations at the front end of the project can result in costly failures with severe outcomes involving personnel safety, project costs, and schedule overruns. To avoid unnecessarily costly or unsafe designs at the later stages of a project, the interface points between equipment or module and trailer must be established starting in the beginning stages of the project among the project team. The land transport stability is determined by checking axle loadings, combined geometric stability, dynamic stability angle, and trailer spine beam analysis. A calculation example of these checks is also included in the Appendix of this paper. An SPMT transport stability calculation example is included in the Appendix of this paper. The calculation example, information, resources, and recommended future works provided in this paper will give practicing engineers a more thorough understanding of land transport module designs and analyses.